Natural Tapestries
On Art and Courage…
Much of making art is celebrating beauty but it is also about having courage.
We need courage to deal with disappointment and failure. Robert Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” If we’re only photographing to get perfect shots, we miss the lesson of ‘practice’ and fail to experience the opportunity of learning who we are as artists and creative souls.
It takes courage for us to view art as a verb – an unfolding process that directly emanates from our heart, rather than seeing art only as a noun - the final product. When we regard art as a noun, we set out with goals and preconceived notions. We are blinkered and closed to potential magic and possible gifts. But when we risk having art become a verb for us, we find our unique and special vision. We light our own fire and dance to the music of our own dance.
Courage takes many forms. One of the hardest things for us to do is to hold our art out for others to judge. It’s hard enough for us to hear that gaggle of judging voices in our own heads, happy to tell us all about the rotten quality of our work. But it is important to share our art, without worrying about the delusion of perfection.
This is great advice, yet scary to put into practice. However, this year I took a chance. With the urging and encouragement of fellow photographers, I submitted images for the North American Nature Photographers Association 2010 “Member’s Showcase”. NANPA prints the judge’s choices in an annual journal called ‘Expressions’.
When I received notice of my inclusion into ‘Expressions’, I felt proud to be part of such a remarkable community of creativity and talent. I was also humbled because the judges received almost 4,000 photographs - an incredible array of wonderful images.
As we travel on the creative journey, we all know how many ‘delete’ buttons are pushed and how many “if only” sighs are heard. As I look at my images accepted for inclusion, I am struck by how eclectic and diversified they are. My roots began in macrophotography and, although this is still my love, I have learned that only by taking chances can I grow as an artist and a person.
And, while we know that there is a universal need to seek approval and to be validated, we don’t want to put power into the hands of judges. But from my experience this year, I’ve found that we can “achieve greatly” if we challenge fear by revealing and sharing our art with others and by not expecting perfection in every image.
I’ve learned that courage requires us to let go of safety and that is also how we stay authentic. We can travel without a GPS and not worry about getting lost. None of us always knows the answers or how to be the perfect artist, but we can move beyond what might feel comfortable and safe, and know that this is an integral part of growing and unfolding.
Acceptance is a savory treat and I am grateful for having my images included in NANPA’s ‘Expressions’. But it remains my goal to search deeper still within myself. As I travel along on my path, I will always remain appreciative and in awe over all that there is to celebrate in the world – be it a frog’s toe or butterfly fishermen in fog.
To courage, passion, desire and light!
Namasté, from my light to yours,
Nancy
Much of making art is celebrating beauty but it is also about having courage.
We need courage to deal with disappointment and failure. Robert Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” If we’re only photographing to get perfect shots, we miss the lesson of ‘practice’ and fail to experience the opportunity of learning who we are as artists and creative souls.
It takes courage for us to view art as a verb – an unfolding process that directly emanates from our heart, rather than seeing art only as a noun - the final product. When we regard art as a noun, we set out with goals and preconceived notions. We are blinkered and closed to potential magic and possible gifts. But when we risk having art become a verb for us, we find our unique and special vision. We light our own fire and dance to the music of our own dance.
Courage takes many forms. One of the hardest things for us to do is to hold our art out for others to judge. It’s hard enough for us to hear that gaggle of judging voices in our own heads, happy to tell us all about the rotten quality of our work. But it is important to share our art, without worrying about the delusion of perfection.
This is great advice, yet scary to put into practice. However, this year I took a chance. With the urging and encouragement of fellow photographers, I submitted images for the North American Nature Photographers Association 2010 “Member’s Showcase”. NANPA prints the judge’s choices in an annual journal called ‘Expressions’.
When I received notice of my inclusion into ‘Expressions’, I felt proud to be part of such a remarkable community of creativity and talent. I was also humbled because the judges received almost 4,000 photographs - an incredible array of wonderful images.
As we travel on the creative journey, we all know how many ‘delete’ buttons are pushed and how many “if only” sighs are heard. As I look at my images accepted for inclusion, I am struck by how eclectic and diversified they are. My roots began in macrophotography and, although this is still my love, I have learned that only by taking chances can I grow as an artist and a person.
And, while we know that there is a universal need to seek approval and to be validated, we don’t want to put power into the hands of judges. But from my experience this year, I’ve found that we can “achieve greatly” if we challenge fear by revealing and sharing our art with others and by not expecting perfection in every image.
I’ve learned that courage requires us to let go of safety and that is also how we stay authentic. We can travel without a GPS and not worry about getting lost. None of us always knows the answers or how to be the perfect artist, but we can move beyond what might feel comfortable and safe, and know that this is an integral part of growing and unfolding.
Acceptance is a savory treat and I am grateful for having my images included in NANPA’s ‘Expressions’. But it remains my goal to search deeper still within myself. As I travel along on my path, I will always remain appreciative and in awe over all that there is to celebrate in the world – be it a frog’s toe or butterfly fishermen in fog.
To courage, passion, desire and light!
Namasté, from my light to yours,
Nancy
